Look Back Rule

[Daryl H. Long]

Several years ago I presented a Look Back Rule scenario to my state interpreter. The answer I received was in my opinion very flawed and to put it bluntly just plain wrong.

Here is the scenario:
R1 at 2nd. R2 at 1st base. B2 gets ball 4 and the Ball is returned directly to pitcher within the circle. B2 sprints to first and stops on the base. R1 goes to third and stops. R2 did not realize ball 4 until B2 tells her. R1 then advances and rounds 2nd base going several steps toward third, stops, then returns to 2nd.

The ruling I got was that R2 may not round the base at all. She must stop at second. If she rounds the base then she is out...not by LBR but per 8-6-21 which state "a runner is out if the runner fails to keep contact with the base to which she is entitled until the ball leaves the pitchers hand. In this case since there was a runner on 3rd then R2 was only entitled to 2nd base and if she touches then leaves that base with the ball in the circle she is out.

Do any of you buy this argument?

My take is that all runners may round, stop, then return legally to the base (NF 8-7-2).